Single-hulled oil tankers banned from Union’s ports

The speedy implementation of the new regulation was hailed by European Commission spokesman Gilles Gantelet, who said it underlined the Union’s determination to accelerate the elimination of all such tankers.

The rules are a response to disasters such as the November 2002 Prestige spill, when a 25-year-old single-hulled tanker shed 70,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil after breaking up off the coast of Galacia.

The spill devastated wildlife and damaged both the Spanish and French shorelines.

The new rules ban all tankers more than 23 years old from docking at EU ports and subject all vessels over 15 years old to stringent inspections, with the aim of gradually phasing out the ships.

The tankers are also prohibited from transporting particular grades of heavy oil – such as bitumen, tar and used oil – which are considered too dangerous for single-hull ships.

Tankers more than 15 years old will also be subject to regular technical inspections and, if a ship fails, it can be refused entry to EU ports or permission to fly the flag of a member state.

The Commission is also pushing for the new inspections – known as the Condition Assessment Scheme – to be adopted worldwide by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

“We hope for an international accord,” said Gantelet, adding that the IMO is expected to take a final decision in December.

The idea is to have “these stricter safety standards applied to the entire fleet worldwide”.